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4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. CLARKE. Feed Mechanism for Circular Knitting Machines. No. 234,535.Patented Nov. 16, 1880-.

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4 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. CLARKE.

Feed Mechanism for Circular KnittingMaJchines. No. 234,535. PatentedNov. 16, I880.

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H. CLARKE. Peed Mechanism for Circular KnittingMaohines. No. 234,535.Patented Nqv. 16,1880.

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UNrTEn STATES PATENT @EETQE.

HENRY CLARKE, OF LOUGHBOROUGH, ENGLAND.

FEED MECHANlSiVl FOR CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 234,535, dated November16. 1880.

Application filed June1 2, 1879. Patented in England November 19, 1878.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY CLARKE, ofLoughborough, in the county of Leicester, England, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Feed Mechanisms for Circular- Knitting Machines,for which I have obtained a patent in Great Britain, No. 4,685, bearingdate November 19,1878, and of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a feed attachment for circular-knittin gmachines.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the attachmentembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a like view of another side of saidattachment. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a detached portion of thesame. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, are detail views, Fig. 5 being a section takenon the line :0 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a portion of acircular-knitting machine with my improvement applied thereto. Fig. 9 isa top or plan view of the same. Fig. 10 is a detail sectional viewthrough the bracket B and the swinging or vibratory arm O.

The circular-knitting machine to which my improvement is applied isprovided with the usual latch-needles for making ribbed looped fabrics,and with the needle-cylinder in which the frame-needle bits slide. Thismachine is of ordinary and well-known construction, and hence I haveonly referred to certain parts thereof which are directly connected withthe present improvement.

The letter A refers to the cam-cylinder of the machine, which covers theneedle-cylinder, a portion only of said cam-cylinder being represented.

The letter A refers to a bracket, the outer arm, a, of which is slotted,to admit of the sliding to and fro of a screw, A the head of which istapped, to receive the screwed end of a lever, A. The screw enters intoa hole tapped to receive it in the under side of the foot of a verticalbracket, B, which slides and is capable of adjustment upon the bracketA, its position on which and its distance from the cam-cylinder A beingregulated by a set-screw, B, at its outer end. On the inner end of saidbracket B is secured a thread-guide, G. This guide will terminate abovethe machine-needles and in front of the frame-needles. The outsidenearest the feeding end has a troughlike portion, which projects andforms a receptacle, in which the feeding end of a second guide, 0, lies.This guide is secured to a vibratory arm, C by a washer and screw, Gwhich projects at the back of the arm and forms a smooth pin, whichslides on a cambit, E referred to hereinafter. The end of the uide 0carries a. U-sha ed s irin uide- D b b bit, 0 secured to it. The bit isshown at Fig. 8 in the position it takes while a splicingthread, (1 isbeing supplied to the needles. The arm 0 swings upon an axle, 0 securedin the front face of the bracket B. Near its lower end, on one side ofthe arm 0 a bracket, 1), projects backward and carries a setscrew, 0which rests upon a stud, I), in front of the bracket B, which is shownin Fig. 10. The set-screw G regulates the position of the feeding-guideG with respect to the guide 0, since the adjustment of the saidset-screw determines the extent to which the arm 0 is allowed to movetoward the cam-cylinder A, the set-screw being arranged to have itsinner end rest against the stud b. Between the guide 0 and the axle Uthe arm 0 is slotted a portion of its length, in the slot of which astud, cl, slides, being provided with a washer on the front side andbeing screwed into a bracket, J, at the back, Figs. 1 and 5. A portionof the bracket is grooved at the back, and the bracket projects at theleft side and carries an axle for a truck, I. (Shown at Figs. 1 and 2.)

In the groove j at the back of the bracket J, the pointed front of aslidable stud-plate, E lies. The stud-plate slides upon the front of thebracket B and up and down in a slot in the bracket, the stud beingsecured in aplate or collar, E, carried by a slotted arm, E, near thebottom of which a stud, c, is secured, which passes through and slidesup and down in the slot in the bracket B. The stud c terminates in thefront of the bracket B in a double-incline cam-bit, E

The upper end, 0, of the arm E has a rod, E projecting up from the back,upon which a coiled spring rests. The upper end of this spring pressesagainst the under side of an arm, f, of the bracket B, said arm havingformed thereon a cam-boss, B on its upper side. The shape of thecircumference of the cam-boss is shown spread out at Fig. 7.

The rod E passes through and slides up and down in the arm f andcam-boss B and is screw-threaded at its upper end to receive twolock-nuts, B between which and the camsurface the rod is provided with astar-wheel,

B having a stud, B, on its lower side, which rests on one or other ofthe cam-runs. By such means the height of the arm E, cam-bit E andstud-plate E are adjusted as required, the contour of the cam-surfaceallowing the workman attendant on the machine to adjust the star-wheelwhere required by turning it to the right, without having occasion toturn it backward. The stud-plate E taking into the groove at the back ofthe bracket J, raises or lowers the bracket J and truck I to therequired positions.

At Fig.8 the stud B is shown on the lowest portion ofthe cam B The armE, being pressed down by the spring on the rod E holds the truck I atthe requisite height to be actuated by a cam, H, of the knittingmachine.When the said stud rests upon either of the intermediate runs of the camB the spring guidebit 0 and guide 0 are held away from the guide 0 bythe cam-bit E pressing upon the screw-pin C", the pin resting upon thepoint of the cam-bit, in which position neither of the camsHnor H canoperate the truckI; butwhen the star-wheel stud rests upon the highestrun of the cam B as in Figs. 1 and 2, the truck is in position to beactuated by the cam H.

Between the spring guide-bit C and the vibratory arm 0 is a rod, D,covered for a portion of its length with india-rubber, or other suitablematerial, as at D. The rod is held by an arm, D secured to the left edgeof the bracket B.

The cams H and H have a toothed wheel, K, interposed between them, thethree being secured to, carried by, and revolving with the extension ofcap-plate of the dial-needles.

The cams H H and cap-plate of the dialneedles are caused to revolve by atoothed wheel, L, gearing into the wheel K, and the wheel L slides upona keyway cut in an axlerod, G, which revolvesin two brackets secured tothe framing of the machine, one of which, G, is shown in Fig.8. A likewheel to the wheel L will be secured to the lower end of the axle-rod,so as to gear into the teeth of a wheel, K, secured to and revolvingwith the flange of the driving-wheel of the frame-head in the usual way.

At the back of the bracket 1) carrying the set-screw O is a pin, 0,against which the lower hooked end of a rocking lever, F, presses, beingheld thereto by a spring, F hooked on it and on a stud or otherprojection at the back of the foot of the bracket B. The upper end ofthe rocking lever F carries a pin, F which lies between two plates, Bwhich form the upper end of the bracket B. These plates have each aguide-hole, through which the splicingthread is passed. It is then putthrough a guide-loop, (1- and through an eye, h, of the spring guide-bitG down between the spring end and top of the guide 0, through the guide0 to the needles. The feeding-thread G is passed through a guide-loop,then through the hole in the guide 0, and through the guide 0 to theneedles.

The thread 0 is the thread usually employed to make the fabric, andconstantly feeds the needles.

The splicin g-thread O is an additional thread fed to the needles onlywhen certain portions of the fabric are required to be strengthened,which is effected by the improved machinery and apparatus abovedescribed in the following manner:

In the drawings, at Figs. 8 and 9, the usual feedingthread and thesplicing thread are shown in the positions they occupy when they areboth feeding the needles, the splicingthread being drawn to the needlesby the feedingthread, except when retained by the operation of either ofthe cams H and H, or when the screw-pin O rests upon the point of thecam-bit E In the retention of the splicing thread in either of thesecases the following takes place: The vibratory arm C is moved to theright, taking with it the guide 0 and causing the spring end of theguide-bit C to be pressed against the rubber-covered rod 1), thusnipping the splicing-thread between the springguide-bit and the guide G,thereby preventing it being drawn along by the feedingthread C andcausing it to be severed at or near to the needles. lVhilc so severedthe usual feeding-thread makes the fabric unspliced; but immediately thesplicing-thread is set free by the rising or falling of the cam-bit Eallowing the arm 0 to resume the position shown at Fig. 1, thesplicing-thread is carried along by the usual feeding-thread, and aspliced portion of fabric is made, the fabric being also spliced whilethe cams H and H allow the arm to assume the position shown at Fig. 1;but upon either of the outer runs of the cams forcing the arm 0 outwardthe splicing-thread is severed, as above described. \Vhile thesplicing-thread is feeding, the pin F carried by the rocking lever F, isheld clear of the splicing-thread; but upon the arm being forced outwardthe spring -guide-bit secures the splicing-thread, and the pin F assumesthe position shown at F, causing the splicingthread to be doubled, asshown by the dotted lines at Fig. 1, thus causing a slackness of thesplicing-thread, which slackuess is taken up by the feeding-thread assoon as the splicingthread is set free to be carried along with it.

In the drawings illustrating my improvements I have only shown myapparatus as ap plied to a circular machine with one threadfeeder formaking ribbed looped fabrics but if either circular machines makingribbed or plain fabrics are employed having more than one feeder a setof apparatus, as above described, is applied to each feeder, but onlyone set of cams are employed to operate the whole of the splicingapparatus.

In further illustration of the operation of the mechanism described, letit be supposed that the stud B rests upon the lowest run of the cam-bossB If, now, the star-wheel B be turned so as to raise this stud into thenext highest notch of the cam-run, such movement will raise the rod E,which, in turn, lifts the vertically-sliding arm or bar E, which arm orbar raises the cam E at its lower end. As this cam rises its upperbeveled face, acting upon the stud or pin 0 causes the slotted arm 0 toswing upon its pivot 0", thereby bringing the spring 0 closely upagainst the rubber-covered part D of the rod 1). As the arm E rises inthe above movement it also causes the truck or wheel I to rise, sinceits stud-plate E which projects into the groovein the bracket J, whichcarries said truck, causes said bracket to be raised. Also, during saidmovement of the bar or arm E, the bracket 1) carried thereby also rises,and, acting against the lower end of the lever F, vibrates the saidlever. If, now, the star-wheel B is turned still farther, so as to raisethe stud B to the highest point of the cam-run B, the cam IE will beraised above the pin 0 as shown in Fig. 6, and the action of the springF upon the lower end of the lever F will cause said lower end of thelever to bear upon the bracket 1), so as to force said bracket towardthe stationary bracket B, and

cured upon the bracket A, the thread-guide 0, carried by the bracket B,the thread-guide O, the swinging or vibratory arm 0 carrying thethread-guide O, the stud (1 also carried by said swinging arm, thevertically-movable cam E arranged to act. upon said stud, thespring-guide 0 carried by the guide 0, and the set-screw 0 allconstructed substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a knitting-machine, of the cams H H with thevertically-movable bracket J, carrying a truck, I, and grooved along aportion of its rear side, and the slidin g stud-plate E substantially asdescribed.

3. Thecombination, with the vertically-movable slotted arm E, of thecollar E, the studplate E the double-inclined cam E the rod E a coiledspring surrounding said rod, the arm 6 of the arm or bar E, and the armf of the bracket B, the cam-boss B and the starwheel B with a stud, Ball constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the swinging or vibratory arm 0 having the pinG. at the back of the said swinging or vibratory arm, of the plates Bforming the upper end of the bracket B, the pivoted lever F, and theguide-loop 0 substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the lever F, of the pin F, the spring F the arm(J and the ver tically-slidable bracket J, and the truck I,substantially as described.

HENRY CLARKE. Witnesses:

J. H. Gonen, H. W. GOUGH, O. E.

